


it's not living [if it's not with you]

by Crazyloststar



Series: Home With You [5]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Feelings Realization, First Kiss, M/M, Status Effects, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-16 18:59:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19324153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazyloststar/pseuds/Crazyloststar
Summary: “So no one is going to say anything about the random buff dude carrying me like a princess?”***Day six of Promptio Week: Forgotten





	it's not living [if it's not with you]

**Author's Note:**

> Day 6: Forgotten
> 
> Prompto gets hit with a status effect that makes him forget the first person who touches him :33

“Prompto!” Noct’s voice echoed over them all. Gladio spun around in an instant to scan the area for the shock of blond hair that he had gotten so used to seeing during battle.

Noct was trying frantically to get across the field but he was clearly in stasis and unable to warp to get there faster. Gladio followed his panicked stare to see Prompto -

_Shit!_

He lay on the ground face down. Another goddamn Treant was moving towards him and he still didn’t move. Gladio charged and sliced through it and ran without looking back, able to push through faster than Noct.

“Hey, blondie, hey,” Gladio vanished his weapon momentarily as he slid to his knees in the muck and tried to stir Prompto awake. His hands roamed over Prompto’s body first, trying to assess the damage. He had a nasty bump to the head, and a gash along his arm, but he didn’t seem too hurt. Nothing a quick drink and some rest couldn’t fix. He took out a potion and dropped it on Prompto.

He didn’t wake up though.

Hissing through his teeth, Gladio shifted and got his arms under Prompto’s knees and shoulder and-

Prompto groaned, head rolling against his chest as he rose up. A quick glance told him the rest of the Treants had been taken care of, thank fuck.

“Hey, I got you,” he whispered as he walked towards the others.

Prompto winced and opened his eyes. Gladio smiled. “Welcome back.”

Prompto studied his face in a way that was almost embarrassing, like he was looking at him for the first time.

“Guys!” Noct shouted as he ran up to them both. “Prompto, you okay?”

As Prompto turned his head to look at Noct, his eyes lit up. “Noct! Ya, I’m fine, I think?”

“You think? Ignis strolled up beside Noct, adjusting his glasses and studying Prompto carefully. Gladio was unsure if he should put him down though.

“I mean,” Prompto made a gesture with his hand that was anything but subtle. Ignis and Noct looked up at Gladio just as confused as he was.

“Prom?”

“So no one is going to say anything about the random buff dude carrying me like a princess?”

 

* * *

 

Gladio sat in his chair at the haven, pretending to read because he gave up trying a while ago. Prompto and Noct were napping under stritch nurse Iggy orders. Said nurse was currently cooking some soup for dinner.

Meanwhile, Gladio was losing his mind.

They determined it was some sort of status effect like Confusion, but more intense. But nothing they tried would get rid of it. So Ignis had determined Prompto should nap, maybe it was just a longer duration than normal.

Up until he had hidden himself away in the tent, though, Prompto had skirted around Gladio, as if he didn’t trust him. Well because he didn’t _know_ him.

It made something in Gladio’s chest ache.

“Here,” a can of beer suddenly appeared in his view. He looked up at Ignis, concern deep in his eyes.

“When did you get beer?” Gladio took it though, snapping the lid open and taking a long sip.

“Last store, I’ve been holding onto them for emergencies.”

“This qualifies?”

Ignis sat in the chair beside him and opened a can of ebony. “Seems like it.”

Gladio looked over to the tent. “He doesn’t remember me at all, Ignis. It’s like I’ve never existed to him.”

Ignis took a long sip and sighed. “It’s just a status effect, Gladio. It will fade with time if potions don’t work. We just need to be patient. We’ll hold on moving for a day or two to see how he does.”

Gladio took another drink. His other hand fiddled with a page of his book. He wanted to say things like _what if it didn’t go away_. _What if Prompto never remembered him_. What if they had to start from the beginning, awkward and unsure, but only one sided because Gladio-

“You’re crushing it,” Ignis’s voice startled him.

“What?”

He gestured to the can in Gladio’s hand. It was crushed almost completely in his hand, beer foaming at the top and spilling over.

Gladio grunted and threw the can into the fire.

“That’s unnecessary, what a waste.”

Gladio just grunted again and slammed the book shut. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. There were things happening in his head, in his chest, all bubbling up because Prompto didn’t recognize him, wasn’t smiling at him the way he always did. Wasn’t bumping shoulders, exchanging soft touches, holding eye contact.

“Fuck,”

“Gladio?”

He couldn’t look at Ignis because somehow Iggy would figure everything out in .5 seconds.

The sound of movement in the tent made them both turn towards it. Prompto popped out and Gladio wanted to crawl up somewhere and hide. The urge to go over and wrap his arms around Prompto was so strong it was almost suffocating. But Prompto didn’t even look at him, just turned to face Ignis nervously.

“Uhm hey, Iggy?”

“Yes, Prompto?”

“Is there any food?”

“Dinner is simmering. I don’t believe we have any snacks right now.”

“Oh,” Prompto played with his bracelets, eyes focused on the cooking station. “Got it. No biggie, I’ll just uh. Chill. Until dinner.”

“You should sleep more, you need to get whatever it is out of your system.”

Gladio just watched their conversation while trying not to be imposing. He didn’t want to spook Prompto. But at the mention of the effect, Prompto’s eyes moved over to meet his.

Gladio shifted and just offered a wave. Like _yes hello I am the effect your brain is fucking with hi_.

Prompto nodded and gave an awkward wave. “Sorry, uh. Gladio. I don’t mean to offend you.”

He shrugged, because that was all he could do. He refused to let Prompto feel bad. “You don’t need to say sorry. Just get better.”

Prompto hummed and went back into the tent. Gladio ached for him to call him _big guy_ and it was so stupid. He was stupid.

He was about to open his book again when he caught Ignis staring at him, before he got up to check on dinner.

 

 

When dinner was ready, everyone was huddled around the fire and things were almost normal. Prompto stayed glued to Noct’s side, which wasn’t unusual, but he still would always at least acknowledge Gladio. And he knew he wasn’t being mean on purpose but...

But what? Gladio wondered to himself as he took a sip of the stew.

He wanted Prompto to try to remember him. But he knew it wouldn’t work. If the status effect was to forget something, or someone, there was nothing he or Prompto could do to jog his memory. Gladio hoped to all the fucking gods it just was only a 24 hour thing.

He watched as Prompto fed some greens to his chocobo and pet his head. He held his breath as he leaned against Ignis to beg for second helpings.

Gladio‘s chest tightened. He wasn’t very hungry anymore.

 

* * *

 

He heard Ignis stir beside him and get out of the tent to start breakfast, and he was almost elated.

Because maybe Prompto would be better. It hadn’t been 24 hours exactly but fuck. It had been long enough as far as Gladio was concerned.

He rolled over to see Prompto, curled up next to Noct. That had also hurt, the night before. Usually Prompto slept in the middle, sandwiched between him and Noct. But last night Prompto had quietly moved to be on the other side of Noct, closest to Ignis and fuck.

_Fuck this._

Gladio had been putting together the dots quicker and quicker and his heart beat faster every time. With a sigh he got up and threw on a hoodie to help Ignis with food. It was better than sitting there wallowing in whatever was going on in his head.

The smell of food did eventually stir Prompto and Noct from the tent. Gladio didn’t look up be he waited for that usual greeting, the chipper good morning he had gotten so used to.

“Morning!” Prompto shouted as he stretched and Gladio snapped his head up because maybe he was back to normal. But when Prompto came over to inspect the food, he stood next to Ignis and avoided Gladio.

He finished chopping up the dried garula and slid it over to Ignis to add to the hash in the pan.

“M’ gonna walk. Holler when food is ready,” he grumbled, and it was only then Prompto finally looked up at him. But Gladio didn’t pause. He turned and took long steps down the rocky haven, and strolled away. There was a small lake nearby he knew he could sit at and just...get himself pulled together.

Even if he was realizing something…for Prompto, it didn’t matter. For one, Prompto was hurt, and making any moves on him right now wouldn’t be fair.

Two, the likelihood Prompto even felt the same when he _did_ have his memory was slim to none.

He heard the sound of leaves underfoot but didn’t turn to see who it was.

“Uh, hey, Gladio?”

Okay, Prompto had been the last person he was expecting to follow him.

“Yo,” he still didn’t turn, kept facing forward on the rock he had claimed. Prompto didn’t sit beside him, just stood next to the rock. He rested a hand on the surface and studied it.

“I’m trying to remember, I am.”

Gods, he sounded so defeated and upset. “It’s not like you’re doing it on purpose. It just..” he caught himself. “I didn’t expect this to get to me. I’ll get over it, and you’ll recover soon anyways.”

He looked out the corner of his eye and Prompto nodded. He balled his hand into a fist and knocked on it a little. “Noct is trying to help, telling me things. But it’s...different, when you don’t remember anything you know?”

“Course.” He wanted to prod more, find out what Noct was saying but knew he couldn’t. If there was anything Prompto had ever only told Noct it wasn’t fair of him to try to find out.

Prompto stood there, and Gladio just stared at the water. He could easily explain why he was being, was he being a jerk? Whatever he was, but he just didn’t think it fair.

“Oh, Iggy said food is ready,” he tapped the rock again and stepped back until he turned and walked away.

Gladio waited a few extra minutes before going back to the haven even though he knew it would mean his food would probably be cold.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the day went quietly. Prompto and Noct went fishing, Ignis cleaned up and took inventory of supplies. Gladio also cleaned up and read. But he was antsy - they were coming up on 24 hours since the fight and this would be when they would either get relief because the effect would finally wear off, or shit would break because it didn’t.

As they neared the 24 hour mark, Gladio opted to go into the tent, because if the other two came back and Prompto still looked at him with that vacant _do I know you_ glare again he might break something.

So instead he curled up on his side of the tent with his book, facing the canvas wall. Eventually he heard the sounds of Noct and Prompto returning; they sounded excited. Gladio tried to tune it out, instead focusing on the words that really were just blurry smears of ink to his vision by this point.

The tent zipper opening announced someone coming in. He assumed it was Noct, but they didn’t speak, so it could be Prompto sneaking in to get something without wanting to disturb him. Which could mean he still didn’t remember, which could mean -

“H-hey there, big guy.”

Gladio nearly lost hold of his book tossing it across the tent as he flipped over to see Prompto sitting on the floor in front of him.

Gladio sat up on his elbow, and tried to play it off. “Big guy, huh?”

Prompto laughed a little and ran a hand through his hair. He looked away, and bit his lower lip and Gladio couldn’t tell if there was a blush on his cheeks or if it was the way the sunset bled through the tent.

“Ya I, um. Shit.” Prompto laughed again and looked down at his hands. “Can you just uh, close your eyes? Just for a second I won’t hurt you I swear I just...”

Gladio couldn’t help a small laugh as he obeyed and sat up, crossing his legs. Did Prompto remember him, now? What was he playing at? “I don’t think you hurting me is a thing I’d be afraid of.”

“What _would_ you be afraid of?” Prompto’s voice was closer. He had shuffled closer and Gladio swallowed hard.

“That’s a short list, and I don’t think you -”

Hands were on his shoulders and lips ghosted over his own. He held his breath with a gasp, but Prompto didn’t close the space, just sat there, waiting.

Gladio was tired of waiting.

“If you don’t I will so make up your mind.” Gladio tried to smile but also, was...did Prompto…

“Oh,” was all Prompto said before he pressed close.

Prompto’s lips were soft and warm like the sun, and Gladio didn’t wait for anything else. He pulled Prompto into his lap and kissed him hard, hands resting on his waist. Prompto made a small sound as he scrambled to keep up, his arms sliding down Gladio’s back.

When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against Gladio’s and looked down at him. Gladio didn’t move. He was fucking terrified of what could happen next. Was this like, phase two of the status effect?

“I remembered,” Prompto whispered and then cleared his throat.

Gladio let out a shaky breath. “Ya?”

“And so I also remembered, um,” Prompto fidgeted a little. “I _remembered_ remembered.”

Gladio blinked. “What?”

“Gaaaaah,” Prompto rolled his head back and Gladio laughed again because _gods_ , “Just listen, I remembered my feelings okay? And I felt so awful, that I had forgotten and-”

It was Gladio’s turn to cut Prompto off though as he surged forward and kissed him deeply. Prompto had remembered, and he remembered how he felt about _Gladio_ , and it was all so much at once and he wanted to hold onto it.

“Hey Prompto!” Noct shouted, and when he tried to pull away Gladio didn’t let him, he held on and kept kissing.

“When you’re done sucking face food is ready! Specs says we have to wait for you so hurry up guys!”

Gladio smiled against Prompto’s lips, and Prompto did the same as his hands slid up into Gladio’s hair.

Ya, dinner could wait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Guys?”

**Author's Note:**

> catch me at [twitter](https://twitter.com/crazyloststar)


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